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M-1 Rail work begins on Woodward Avenue

Work has officially commenced on Woodward Avenue for the $137 million M-1 Rail streetcar project.

A catch basin at the southwest corner of the median at Congress and Woodward is being moved by Alameda, Calif.-based civil construction firm Stacy and Witbeck Inc., M-1’s construction manager and general contractor, and Detroit-based utility contractor Blaze Contracting Inc.

“The relocation of underground utilities will allow the project to move rapidly once track construction along Woodward Avenue begins next year,” said Paul Childs, M-1 RAIL’s COO, in a statement. “Today we’ve prudently taken an important step toward fulfilling our mission of delivering a modern streetcar system to Detroit.”

Workers will spend five to 12 days each at eight sites from Larned Street to John R, working from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., over the next few months, M-1 said in a news release. The work will be done at one site at a time.

Public access to businesses will not be prevented by the utility relocation work, M-1 said. Traffic will be maintained with barrels and signs. There will be some lane closures, but Woodward will not be closed.

There will be advance notice of temporary utility shut-offs.

The affected intersections, in no particular order:

1. Southbound Woodward at Congress

2. Northbound Woodward south of Campus Martius Park

3. Northbound Woodward at Cadillac Square

4. Southbound Woodward at Michigan Avenue

5. Southbound Woodward, north of Campus Martius Park

6. Southbound Woodward at State Street

7. Southbound Woodward at Grand River

8. Woodward and John R

Other utilities, including DTE Energy, Comcast and MCI, have begun to reposition their underground facilities, too.

M-1 will answers questions about the utility work at (800) 511-3931 or info@m-1rail.com.

The project also issued what’s coming in 2014:

• Finalize the intergovernmental agreements that will permit mainline construction to commence along Woodward Avenue

• Solicit for roadway subcontractors and suppliers for the mainline construction work along Woodward Avenue

• Continue pursuit of the necessary real-estate acquisitions and issue a design-build RFP for the vehicle storage and maintenance facility

• Move administration office to a new space located at 1426 Woodward Avenue shortly after the New Year.

The project remains in talks for a vendor for streetcars.

Construction of the 3.3-mile grade-level rail loop on Woodward Avenue by the public-private M-1 effort is expected to begin with the spring thaw, M-1 CEO Matt Cullen has said.

M-1's plan is a mostly curbside-running, fixed-rail streetcar circulator system, co-mingled with traffic, with 11 stops between Grand Boulevard and Congress Street. It will run in the median at its north and south ends.